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Apple supplier Wistron’s Indian factory in Karnataka state was unable to cope with the rapidly increasing workforce and violated several laws, a government inspection revealed following violence at the site last weekend.
FILE PHOTO: Men in protective masks walk past the broken windows of a facility run by Wistron Corp, a Taiwanese Apple maker, in Narsapura, near the southern city of Bangalore, India, on December 14, 2020. REUTERS / Stringer / File Photo
BENGALURU / NEW DELHI: Apple supplier Wistron’s Indian factory in Karnataka state was unable to cope with the rapidly increasing workforce and violated several laws, a government inspection revealed following violence at the site at the end of last week.
Several thousand contract workers at Wistron were angered by the alleged non-payment of wages that destroyed property, factory equipment and iPhones at the plant in early December 12, causing millions of dollars in losses to the Taiwanese contract manufacturer and forced to close the plant.
The workforce at this plant, which assembles an iPhone model and went into operation earlier this year, increased to 10,500 workers from the 5,000 allowed in a short period of time, according to a report from the Karnataka factories department, a copy of which was reviewed by Reuters.
“Although 10,500 workers are employed at the factory, the human resources department has not been adequately configured with personnel with a solid knowledge of labor laws,” the inspection report on December 13 said.
The report said there is a large gap between the practices followed at the factory and the legal requirements.
Wistron did not respond to a request for comment.
Apple, which is conducting its own audit at the factory, did not comment either.
Wistron introduced 12-hour shifts from previous eight-hour shifts at the plant in October, but did not adequately address “the confusion in workers’ minds” about their new wages, including overtime, the report said.
The company also did not inform the factories department of the new work shifts, he said.
Wistron, which also changed its attendance system in October, did not fix a technical problem for two months that caused the presence of employees to be incorrectly recorded, according to the investigation.
Some other violations highlighted in the report include underpayment of wages to contract workers and cleaning staff, and causing female staff to work overtime without legal authorization.
A previous government audit of the factory, within hours of the uproar, also found “various labor law violations,” Reuters previously reported.
The state of Karnataka, home to India’s leading software services sector and global companies like Bosh and Volvo, has previously tried to calm investors by condemning the violence and assuring Wistron of its support.
“The company has started an internal audit, which should help it improve systems,” said Gaurav Gupta, the top government official at the Karnataka Department of Industries.
“We hope it will provide solutions to improve worker relationships and pave the way to start operations soon.”
(Reporting by Chandini Monnappa in Bengaluru and Sankalp Phartiyal in New Delhi; Edited by Shri Navaratnam)
